Barbara, what do you do throughout the day in your job? This is a question I get asked frequently, not just from individuals unfamiliar with software development. Most of the time, I struggle to find a concise one-sentence explanation. This article sheds light on what we do, our responsibilities, how we work, and the essence of servant leadership (Agile Team Coach = Scrummaster).

The most impactful role I play is at the team level, and I build on that foundation. Teams are the heart of every product and organization. I experimented with working at the organizational level, but my weakness in creating presentations (PPT, to be precise) became evident, leading to failure. I am hands-on, and my superpower lies in „doing things“ rather than just talking about them. When information is thrown on us without any chance for interaction it is very often a waste of time. How does our brain process information? Right: not by listening alone. We need to DO something with it.

What about you? What is your superpower?

Go there to read more about all the stances of a Scrummaster –>  The Liberators 

You can crab a PDF and poster for FREE! at their site too: –> 8 Stances of a ScrumMaster

And because there are so many misinterpretations about WHAT a ScrumMaster does all day, here are some things we are NOT:

The 8 Misunderstood Stances of a Scrum Master:

Although the preferred 8 stances of a Scrum Master might seem like common sense, they are certainly not common practice. All too often the Scrum Master role is misunderstood, and considered as someone acting as…

• A Scribe. Taking notes during Scrum events. Writing down the entire Sprint plan, daily plan, refinement discussions and Retrospective commitments. I’ve actually experienced a customer that expected the “Scrum Master” to act as a scribe for 4 hours per week…

• A Secretary. Planning all the Scrum events in everyone’s agenda. Responsible for keeping the teams’ schedule with holidays and days off up-to-date.

• The Scrum Police. Rigorously following the rules of Scrum without any empathy for the team’s current situation and context. If you’re not acting according to the Scrum Guide you’re doing it wrong. Period.

• The Team Boss. The so-called “servant-leader”, but actually just the boss of the team. The boss who hires and fires. The boss who decides if someone deserves a salary increase.

• The Admin. If you need a change in JIRA, TFS or any other tool: the Scrum Master is your friend. He (or she) knows every workflow by heart.

• The Chairman. Every morning the team provides a status update to the chairman of the Daily Scrum. This offers the Scrum Master the necessary information to write the daily status report to his/her superiors.

• A Super Hero. It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s the Super Scrum Master!!! Solving all your impediments before it actually even was an impediment. The hero is addicted to the adrenaline of solving “problems.” It’s not about the team, it’s about increasing his status as a hero.

• The Coffee Clerk. There’s nothing wrong with getting coffee for your team members. This is very collegial. But if you’re main purpose during the day is providing the team with coffee… then you’re missing the point of being a Scrum Master.

The Scrum Master in a Nutshell – Geoff Watts 

„One of the most transformatory and misundertood roles. So powerful but under-rated.
The world of work needs more great Scrum Masters“